Google circa 1960

July 22, 2004 7:22 PM

Google circa 1960
posted by lupus_yonderboy (27 comments total)

A funny picture about what google would have been a while back, that hit the internet a while back.
posted by websavvy at 7:23 PM on July 22, 2004

Oh, poop. We just saw it here for the first time. Feh.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 7:41 PM on July 22, 2004

Dear Sirs,

Please send photographs of garter stockings.

Thank you,

A loyal Googleite
posted by ColdChef at 9:01 PM on July 22, 2004

A funny picture about what google would have been a while back, that hit the internet a while back.

Websavvy, I only just made the image on Monday. Or is that a while back?

Maybe someone's going to mail it to Google with an old 4-cent stamp, and it traveled back in time?
posted by kfury at 9:21 PM on July 22, 2004

Kind of like a more recent edition of The Victorian Internet, or my Y2K-100 page.

Hmmmm... ebay in 1960? amazon in 1960? MetaFilter in 1960?
*brain explodes*
posted by wendell at 9:28 PM on July 22, 2004

Congrats, kfury -- we loved it!
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:39 PM on July 22, 2004

hah! that's great!
posted by t r a c y at 9:41 PM on July 22, 2004

This is really cool. But in the interest of historical accuracy...

Zip codes were introduced in 1963.

Two-letter state abbreviations were not in common use in 1960. "Calif." would be more authentic.

posted by 327.ca at 9:46 PM on July 22, 2004

And also, Google didn't exist and the Amphitheatre PArkway didn't exist until the Shoreline Amphitheatre opened in 1986, but this is comedy... :-)

Who's up for doing the 1241ad illuminated manuscript of search results for God?
posted by kfury at 10:09 PM on July 22, 2004

Also, Froogle wasn't added to the Google homepage until 1972.
posted by waxpancake at 11:05 PM on July 22, 2004

You guys suck the fun out of everything.
posted by chicobangs at 11:37 PM on July 22, 2004

Yeah, damn neeks.
posted by dg at 12:02 AM on July 23, 2004

[ this is good ]
posted by monkeyJuice at 1:09 AM on July 23, 2004

Am I the only one thinking that it really would be neat if you could post a search query to someone, and they'd send you back photocopies of newspaper/magazine clippings, encyclopedias, etc.? Yes? OK then.
posted by reklaw at 2:40 AM on July 23, 2004

Like it, but what about "I'm feeling lucky"?
posted by tss at 4:38 AM on July 23, 2004

reklaw, not only does it sound neat, but there's someplace that'll do it for free for you (well, cost of copying), withing a 10 minute drive of your house.
posted by djfiander at 4:57 AM on July 23, 2004

Who's up for doing the 1241ad illuminated manuscript of search results for God?

That is a brilliant idea! If you did it well, you could sell that!
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:08 AM on July 23, 2004

posted by quonsar at 6:05 AM on July 23, 2004

Am I the only one thinking that it really would be neat if you could post a search query to someone, and they'd send you back photocopies of newspaper/magazine clippings, encyclopedias, etc.? Yes? OK then.

This is what used to happen. It was called a clipping service. If you were say, an actor and wanted to know what press you were getting, you hired a clipping service. No photocopies though - you got the actual clipping.
The character Francie Nolan in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, set in 1911-1916, was a reader for a clipping service and read 200 newspapers a week.

People also used to keep scrapbooks on current events.
posted by orange swan at 6:38 AM on July 23, 2004

reklaw, not only does it sound neat, but there's someplace that'll do it for free for you (well, cost of copying), withing a 10 minute drive of your house.

And sometimes they'll even answer questions over instant messenger, or email.
posted by jessamyn at 6:38 AM on July 23, 2004

A funny picture about what google would have been a while back, that hit the internet a while back.
posted by websavvy at 9:23 PM CST on July 22

Websavvy, I only just made the image on Monday. Or is that a while back?
posted by kfury at 11:21 PM CST on July 22

Heh.
posted by Ynoxas at 6:40 AM on July 23, 2004

Am I the only one thinking that it really would be neat if you could post a search query to someone, and they'd send you back photocopies of newspaper/magazine clippings, encyclopedias, etc.?

This is called an "interlibrary loan," and yes, it totally kicks ass.
posted by ChasFile at 7:31 AM on July 23, 2004

"I'm feeling lucky"?

First uttered c.1971. "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"

was later abridged to "I'm feeling lucky".
posted by johnnyboy at 7:56 AM on July 23, 2004

MetaFilter in 1960?

I remember those days. Talk about your flame wars! When howl called Nixon "battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance" and quemoyandmatsu replied "Nixon's five-o-clock shadow has more brilliance than your entire Party cell, you pinko pansy -- why don't you practice some 'self-criticism' and leave us alone?" it looked like the whole place was going to self-destruct. Of course, there were only a few dozen members then, so it got pretty intense. You kids don't know when you've got it good.
posted by languagehat at 9:49 AM on July 23, 2004

I can report that this link made my digital reference class very happy.
posted by stet at 11:22 AM on July 23, 2004

/pictures languagehat bouncing right hand down left arm, a la David Byrne.
the same as it ever was . . .
posted by tr33hggr at 11:32 AM on July 23, 2004

Okay, this thread is a bit long in the tooth now, so I'll go ahead and derail it. I probably won't get an answer to my burning question anyway:

Can anyone comment on the story that the David Byrne gesture tr33hggr refers to is a cryptic reference to a guy at New York Systems who would line the hot dog buns up on his hairy forearm while preparing an order? Apocryphal or not, this is one of my favorite bits of trivia.

Any RISD kids out there?
posted by undecided at 3:34 PM on July 23, 2004